One smile
by garnetfrog
Summary: A pony who feels that showing emotion is a hinderance is being followed around by Pinkie Pie. Cover art done by Aerostoner on Deviant art.
1. Chapter 1 Gear

A party is being held in Canterlot castle for the Equestrian civil war veterans. The party has everything from Equestria's best musicians to Equestria's best Pyrotechnician. Gear was in charge of fireworks for the party.  
Gear wandered around the party aimlessly. The fireworks didn't need to start for nearly three hours. He wore a simple brown vest with pouches for various items along with his fire resistant gloves. His eyes were covered by goggles that he could see out of but that wouldn't let others see his eyes. He got a couple of nasty looks from aristocrats but he ignored them.  
He stopped to listen to a pony speaking nearby; she seemed to be telling a funny story so he walked over. She continued to speak as he stopped to listen. "He was so surprised that he nearly fainted!" She finished. The group of ponies laughed. Gear's expression didn't change. The other ponies noticed him then. "Um, may we help you?" The mare that told the story asked. He shook his head. "No, I was just wandering around." He said. They shifted around uncomfortably until he left.  
_'Was that supposed to be a joke? Perhaps if I could feel emotion I'd understand it.' _Gear thought. He accidentally bumped into a light blue Pegasus. "Oh sorry." He said and continued on. He was aware of her watching him as he walked away. He walked to one of the tables filled with food and took a glass of punch. He looked to his left and found Soarin loading up a plate with all kinds of food. Gear drank the punch and walked over. "Soarin right?" He asked. The Pegasus jumped and turned to look at him. "Yup, no autographs please." He said. Gear tilted his head to one side. "No, I was just wondering if it's a wise decision to eat so much before you fly." He said. Soarin groaned. "Ugh, you're just like Spitfire!"  
Gear watched Soarin walk away. _'Hm, apparently I'm not very good at socializing.' _He thought. He looked at the clock. "Well, I guess checking the fireworks wouldn't hurt." He walked through the crowd toward the door to the garden. He opened the door and found three Prench veterans playing dice on the stairs. They looked up at him and smiled. "'ey! 'ow about a game of dice?" One of them asked.  
Gear shrugged and sat down. One of the ponies rolled. The dice came up as a five and a three. "Ha! High again! Pay up!" One of the soldiers forked over ten bits. The soldier put the dice in Gear's hoofs. "Ve're playing 'igh low. Vhat vill you roll? 'igh or low?" He asked. Gear thought for a moment. "I'll roll high." He said. He rolled the dice and they both landed on six. "Nice roll! Vhat next?" The pony asked. "Ten bits zays 'e gets it right." One of them said.  
He picked up the dice and shook them up. "Low." He said. The dice landed on three and one. "Nice one! I bet you twenty bits you'll roll low next roll." The soldier said. Gear shook his head. "Are you sure that's how you play high low?" He picked up the dice and rolled them. They landed five and three. The soldier frowned and handed him twenty bits. "Alright, I bet fifty bits you can't get znake eyes in zee next three rolls." He said. Gear shrugged and rolled the dice. They landed on four and two. He picked them up again and rolled. This time they landed on two and six. The soldier grinned.  
Gear picked up the dice again and rolled them. Snake eyes. The soldier cried out in surprise. "Vhat!? 'ow did you do zat?" The soldier handed him fifty bits. "Fine, my turn. He picked up the dice I bet you zeventy bits I can roll doubles in three turns." He said. He rolled three times. None of the attempts were doubles. "No!" The soldier cried in despair. The other two laughed. He handed seventy bits to Gear. Above them the wonder bolts were beginning to perform. "Well this was interesting. I have to go." Gear said. He stood up and walked toward his fireworks.  
The soldiers watched him walk away. _'Apparently I'm very lucky...' _He thought. He had never gambled before and found he didn't care for it. He walked into the clearing where he'd be shooting off fireworks and found a strange creature rummaging through them. "Um, those are my fireworks you're looking through." The creature jumped and spun around. "Don't you know who I am?" It asked. Gear shook his head and walked over to the fireworks he had stood up already. "I am Discord! Aren't you afraid of me?" He asked smiling proudly. Gear shook his head. "Not particularly. Should I be?" He asked. Discord frowned.  
Gear walked back to the crate discord was looking through and pulled out a couple of blue ones. Discord watched him with interest. "Why aren't you afraid of me? Or admiring me, or showing any emotion at all?" He asked. Gear stuck the fireworks in the ground and tied the fuses to the one long fuse that he would light later. "I find emotion to be unnecessary. It only distracts from the task at hand." He replied.  
Gear walked back over to the box and pulled out a couple more fireworks. Discord watched him while he set up the fireworks. "Are you going to use all of the fireworks?" Discord asked. Gear nodded his head. "Yes." Discord was silent for a while. "Can I... have one?" He asked. "No." Gear said. Discord frowned. Gear pulled the last of the fireworks out of the box and set them up. "You know, I could just steal one." Discord said. Gear nodded. "And I could always just shoot you." He said. His expression never changed.  
"And what exactly would you shoot me with?" Laughed Discord. Gear pulled a small single shot pistol out of one of his vest pouches and aimed the barrel at Discord's forehead. "This one." He said. Discord stared at the gun. "It is very hard to tell if you're showing emotion or not when you have those goggles on. Please take them off." Gear shook his head. "Please leave." He said.  
The Wonderbolts finished their performance and landed in a separate clearing. Gear pulled the bullet out of the pistol and held it next to the end of the long fuse. He fired the gun and a spark came out lighting the fuse. Gear calmly put the bullet back in the chamber and started walking out of the clearing. "Don't touch the fireworks." He said as he left. Discord quickly pulled his hand away from a firework he was reaching for. "How did he _know_?" Discord wondered out loud.  
Gear sat on a bench watching his fireworks fly up into the air and then explode in bright vibrant colors. His goggles reflected the light of the explosions. He could hear the ponies whispering in excitement over his display. Prince Blue Blood walked past him and stopped. He looked back at Gear and then to the fireworks. "Um, shouldn't you be firing those off?" He asked confused. Gear shook his head. "There's one long fuse connecting them all together, I don't have to fire them off one at a time that way.  
The prince nodded slowly and walked on. _'Hm... I should probably make sure Discord isn't screwing up the display.' _He stood up from the bench and began walking toward the clearing his fireworks were in. Along the way he passed what appeared to be a floating shadow. He ignored it until he found out that it was following him. He turned around to face the shadow.

"Can I help you?" Gear asked the shadow. The shadow stayed where it was and didn't speak. He turned to walk away. "Wait! Thou are not afraid of me?" Gear rolled his eyes. _'Again with the fear.' _He turned. "Not really, no." He said. "Now please stop bothering me. I need to make sure discord hasn't tampered with the display." He turned and started walking. The shadow flew up next to him while he walked. "Thou hast met Discord?" It asked. He nodded and continued walking silently. The shadow was silent for a while. "Thou are a very strange pony." It said.

He nodded and kept walking. "You are a very strange shadow." He said. The shadow seemed to solidify into an Alicorn. It wasn't completely solid however; wisps of shadow came off it as it walked. "I am Nightmare Moon!" It exclaimed. He glanced at her. "Fascinating." He said. She frowned at him. "Doust thou ever show any emotion?" She asked. Gear thought for a while before responding. "Not in a long time, no." They walked on and came upon the clearing where the fireworks were set up. Discord was nowhere in sight.

Gear made sure everything was running smoothly before turning back to Nightmare. "Why exactly are you talking to me? Why not bother somepony else?" He asked. She frowned and thought for a while. "I do not know. I simply saw thou walking and decided to follow." He nodded. The last of the fireworks went off. He listened intently and heard cheering and clapping coming from the castle. "Well it was nice talking with you Miss Moon, but I need to leave." He said. She nodded unhappily. "Alright… I must stay here in Canterlot until I am needed. Will thou please come visit me? It gets very boring with nothing to do." She said. Gear nodded. "Sure, if I'm ever back in Canterlot I'll pay a visit. Good afternoon." And with that he began the walk to the train station.


	2. Chapter 2 party

**I received a review that was confused about things that are going on. All of my fanfictions are connected in one way or another so you'll have to read the others to understand what's going on. All of my fics lead up to one grand story that is still in the planning stage, I have a couple of ideas but I'm planning on at least 100 chapters with at least a 1000 words each so I've got a lot of work to do. All these littler stories are just leading up to the grand finally. My fics are- ponies of the military, Ponies of the military 2- a new adventure, the theifs lament, and one smile. Reading those will explain everything. Thank you for reading.**

Gear bought himself a train ticket to Ponyville and waited for the train to arrive. A few other ponies were also waiting in the station. He sat down on a bench and waited. A while later a group of ponies arrived. They were each wearing elegant dresses or suits of armor. One of them noticed him. "My goodness! You're Gear! You did the fireworks for the show!" She exclaimed. He nodded slowly. "The group walked over to him. They began excitedly complimenting him on the show. "The fireworks were beautiful… is something wrong Mr Gear?" Gear shook his head. "No. Nothing's wrong." He said.

The train pulled into the station then and the group turned to look at it. "Well it was nice meeting you Gear." One of them said. They boarded the train with Gear not far behind. He sat down in the corner. "By the way, my name is Rarity." The pony who recognized him first said. "Hello." He said. "This is Steam, Applejack, Maelstrom, Jonathan, Fluttershy, and Quick Shot." She said pointing to each pony. "Nice to meet you all…" Gear said. He stared out the window. Applejack walked up to him. "You sure you're ok partner? You look awfully glum." He shook his head. "I'm fine, how long is the train ride to Ponyville?" He asked. Rarity smiled. "You're staying in Ponyville? We're headed there as well! It's about an hour." She said.

Gear nodded and stared out the window. When the train arrived in Ponyville Everypony got off. Gear walked with the group until they arrived at Rarity's house. Rarity and Steam said goodbye and went into the house. A moment later a pink pony with balloons as a cutie mark came bouncing out. "Hiya ponies!" She exclaimed. She saw Gear and froze. She gasped and ran away leaving a cloud of dust shaped like her behind. Gear stared in the direction she went. "Don't mind Pinkie, she's just hyper." Maelstrom said. "Spaz is a more accurate description." Ace muttered. Quick Shot laughed and nodded his head in agreement.

Gear walked to his new house and opened the door. He flicked on the light and walked into up to the bedroom. He took off his vest and boots but left his goggles on. After hanging his things in the closet he went into the bathroom to start a bath. Gear lowered himself into the tub and relaxed letting the warmth seep into his body.

**The next morning**

Gear slowly rose from his bed and looked at the clock on the wall. It was only six in the morning. He got out of bed and put on his vest and boots. He sat on the bed with a sigh and looked out the window. The sun was just barely coming over the hills. Gear stood and walked down stairs. He passed Pinkie on the way to the kitchen. "Good morning." He said. He opened the fridge and froze. Gear turned his head slowly and looked at Pinkie. "Um… how did you get into my house?" He asked.

"I came in through the door, duh! You didn't lock it! That was a very nice thing to do considering I came here in the middle of the night to set up! If you hadn't left the door unlocked I would have had to come in through a window or something! Isn't that crazy?! Can you imagine getting all this stuff in through a window?! That would be impossible!" She exclaimed. Gear looked around his living room calmly. It was covered in party streamers and balloons.

A table in the center of the room held a large cake and a punch bowl. He closed the fridge door slowly. "Why exactly did you bring this stuff in here?" He asked. Pinkie jumped up and down excitedly. "Well for your party of course! I mean it really wouldn't be a welcome to Ponyville party if we didn't have a cake! Then it'd just be a room filled with balloons and streamers! That wouldn't be very fun at all!" She spoke so quickly he had a hard time understanding her.

"Uh… ok…" He said. He walked over to the table in the center of the room and examined the cake. "Oh good! Now the others can come in!" She exclaimed. Gear looked up at her as she opened his front door. The ponies he had met on the train ride to Ponyville came inside. "Uh… welcome to my house I guess…" He said. "Let's get this party started!" Pinkie exclaimed. Music started playing and everypony began dancing or talking to one another. Gear stood where he was too stunned to do anything.

Pinkie walked over to him and slapped him on the back. "Hey! Don't just stand there like a lump! It's your party, have fun!" He frowned as he looked around the room then finally decided to drink some punch. _'Still not sure what's going on here…'_ He thought. He pulled up a ladle full of punch. Sitting in the ladle was a baby alligator. He stared at it silently for a bit then slowly lowered it back into the punch bowl. _'I'm not very thirsty…' _He thought.

The party lasted until around seven when he made an announcement. "Um… thank you all for throwing this party for me… but I actually have a job that I need to do… I'd appreciate it if you all left now." He said. "Aww! But we haven't even played any games yet!" Pinkie exclaimed. "Sorry Pinkie, we should get going as well." Maelstrom said. Everypony started leaving. Gear walked up to Pinkie. "Don't worry about clean up, I'll do that when I have some time." Pinkie nodded sadly. She suddenly perked up. "Oh! I know! How about I throw you another party! A bigger one that you can stay at longer!" He clamped a hoof over her mouth before she could continue. "Please don't. I'm not the partying type." He said. Pinkie nodded.

He took his hoof away from her mouth. "By the way, I didn't see you smile once during the party. Did you not enjoy it?" She asked. He nodded. "The party was fine. I just don't see emotion as necessary." He replied. Pinkie gaped at him. "You what?!" She exclaimed. "How can you not feel emotion? Emotion is like the best thing there is! Other than parties of course! I mean who doesn't like a party?" Gear walked out the door with Pinkie following close behind.

"So what is your job?" She asked as she pranced along side him. "I was asked by Mayor Mare to design a new fountain for the main square." He replied. "But you're a pyrotechnician! Why in the name of oatmeal would you design a fountain? It's just weird!" She exclaimed happily. Gear shook his head. "I'm an engineer, fireworks are just a hobby." He explained. She nodded and they continued on toward the main square.


	3. Chapter 3 followed

The two of them arrived in the main square. Ponies were already out and about opening shops or walking around. Gear walked to the center of the square and looked around. Pinkie bounced up and down next to him happily as he examined the ground. He started getting funny looks from the ponies around him. "Pinkie? Why are you following me?" He asked. "So I can make you smile silly! I need to be around you as often as possible so I can find the perfect opportunity to make you smile! Cause everypony needs to smile!" She responded. She continued jumping up and down in one spot.

Gear pulled out a tape measure and hooked one end into the bricks in the center of the square. He then walked back toward the nearest building. His tape measure ran out of tape about half way there. He marked the spot with a piece of chalk and let the tape go. "Whatcha doin?" Pinkie asked. He put the end of the tape measure back into the ground and walked to the edge of the buildings. "I'm measuring the square." He responded. Gear coiled the tape measure and put it back in one of the pouches. "How long is the square?" She asked. "About 100 feet from end to end." He said.

Gear began walking back to his house. "Is that all you needed to do? We could have had a longer party! Why'd you make everypony leave?" Pinkie complained. He opened his front door and found his house to be completely clean. "Oh! I cleaned before I left!" Pinkie said happily. She bounced into the house and sat down on the couch. Gear shook his head and walked over to a desk in the corner. On it were a couple sheets of paper, a ruler, a compass, and a pencil.

He began writing on the paper the different dimensions of the square and drew a quick model. He was aware that Pinkie was looking over his shoulder. "Can I help you?" He asked. He turned his head so he could see her out of the corner of his eye. "I was just wondering what you were doing. Why did you write down those numbers? Why did you draw a picture? Can I draw a picture too?! I'll draw something amazing! I'll be right back!" She ran from the house.

He stared after her for a while then turned back to his work. He drew how the pipes would have to go in order to supply water to the fountain, and drew how large the fountain would be. He wouldn't be designing the fountain though. That was the architect's job. He wrote down some notes and turned to find Pinkie in a beret and smock drawing furiously with paint on a large canvas.

Gear's expression didn't change at all. _'Sheesh, she's kind of annoying.' _He stood up and piled the papers together. "Finished!" Pinkie called out. She turned the canvas around. It was a picture of her presenting a picture of her presenting a picture of her. He stared at it in surprise. "Nice picture?" He asked. He shook his head in wonder and put the papers into and envelope.

"Now what are you doing?" Pinkie asked. Gear wrote an address on the envelope and sealed it. "I'm sending this to the Architect so he can design the fountain according to these specifications." He started walking toward the door. Pinkie tossed the painting out a window and followed behind him. "Are you ever going to smile?" She asked. He shook his head. "Not very likely." He replied.

They stopped at the post office and dropped the letter into the outgoing mail slot. Pinkie gasped. "It's almost lunch time! We should go to Sugar Cube corner!" She exclaimed happily. Gear tilted his head. "We?" She grabbed him by the hoof and pulled him toward Sugar Cube corner. He stumbled along behind her then regained his footing.

Pinkie pulled him through the front door and almost threw him into a seat. He tilted backwards in the chair a little then fell forward. Gear sat still in a daze while Pinkie went behind the counter. Mrs. Cake came out from a side door. "Pinkie! Where have you been all morning?!" Pinkie pointed at Gear. "I've been following him around trying to make him smile! He says he doesn't like smiling, how crazy is that?!" She asked. Mrs. Cake looked at him sympathetically and walked back into what he assumed was the kitchen.

A moment later Pinkie returned with a two plates full of cake. He stared at his for a while. "Well? Aren't you going to eat?" She asked past a mouth full of cake. He gingerly picked up the fork and took a small piece off the end of the cake. Pinkie watched him excitedly as he ate. When he finished his slice of cake he stood up and pulled five bits out of one of his pockets. Pinkie stood up as he set the money at the counter.

"How was the cake? Was it delicious? Well of course it was delicious!" She followed Gear out of the building and on to the street. A green pony with a spiky mane bumped into him. "Oh, sorry there." He said. A purple unicorn next to him frowned at the green pony. "Jeeze Hawkeye! Could you be any more oblivious?" She asked. He rolled his eyes. "That's only the third time Twilight." Pinkie jumped up and down excitedly. "You weren't here this morning so you didn't get to come to Gear's welcoming party this morning! I saved you some cake though!" She produced two plates of cake from behind her back. Gear slowly looked behind her at her back.

"Well thanks for the cake Pinkie, and welcome to Ponyville." Hawkeye said. Twilight looked Gear over. "Hey… I recognize you! You were in the news paper for being the lead engineer in the rebuilding of Canterlot castle!" She said. Gear nodded but remained expressionless. Pinkie looked at his face. "Really!? No smile?! Why don't you smile?!" She exclaimed. Gear flinched like he was expecting her to hit him. "I find emotion unnecessary." Pinkie pouted and turned her head.

"I heard you never take off your goggles, is that true?" Twilight asked. Hawkeye stood eating his slice of cake while they spoke. "I never remove my goggles. Not even when I sleep." Gear responded. Twilight nodded with a strange look on her face. "I should head back to my house…" Gear said. He started walking away. Pinkie followed him simply walking now. Twilight and Hawkeye watched them walk away. "I wonder why Pinkie's following him around." Twilight said. Hawkeye shrugged and looked at Twilight's slice of cake. She turned so he couldn't see it. "You already had a piece mr!" She exclaimed.


	4. Chapter 4 dragged

Gear awoke suddenly but didn't open his eyes. He was having difficulty breathing and it felt like somepony was standing on his chest. He opened his eyes and found himself staring into the smiling face of Pinkie Pie. "Ah!" He fell out of bed in his attempt to get away from her. "How did you get in here?! I locked the door!" Pinkie giggled. "Oh silly, I came in through the window this time! It's five in the morning and there's so much to do today!" He shook his head regaining his composure. "Pinkie, it was one thing to throw me a party, but sneaking into my house and coming into my bedroom!?" She laughed. "Don't worry! It's not like I stole anything!" She pulled a really big list from behind her back. "Alright, five am, wake up Gear… check!" She checked something off on the paper.

Gear shook his head. "No Pinkie, I have work I need to do today." He said. She shook her head vigorously. "I already checked the post office; you don't have anything so you don't have to work! So come on! We're going to Sugar Cube Corner!" She attempted to grab him but he rolled to the side. "Pinkie!" He yelled, "I don't want to go to Sugar Cube Corner! I simply want to sit down and have a quiet breakfast in my house!" He exclaimed. She frowned at him. "Are you mad at me?" She asked. He shook his head. "No, I'm just very annoyed right now." He picked himself up off the floor and walked to his closet.

"But… I had the day all planned out! I even wrote down possible times where you could smile!" He pulled his vest off a hanger and put it on, his gloves came on next. "I'm sorry Pinkie, but I have stuff I need to do today. And would you kindly never break into my house again?" He asked. Pinkie hung her head sadly. "Oh… ok… I'm sorry I bothered you Gear…" She started walking away. Her mane had deflated somewhat and her tail seemed to drag across the floor.

Gear watched her for a moment then sighed. "All right… I can put off work until tomorrow. But tomorrow I definitely have to get things done!" She jumped up happily. "Yippee!" She exclaimed and grabbed him by the vest. _'Oh shit.' _Was all he had time to think before she started half dragging half pulling him outside and toward Sugar Cube Corner.

**The rooftops**

Fate watched the two ponies run from the house. He laughed slightly. Decision looked at him. "What's so funny Fate?" She asked. He shook his head. "Those two remind me of when you decided to pursue me." He smiled at the memory. Decision smiled as well. "I was a lot bolder back then wasn't I?" She asked. Fate nodded his head. Life appeared beside them. "Ah ha! I thought I'd find you two here!" He said. They turned to look at him. "We have work, you know that right? We can't spend all our time watching them." Fate nodded his head. "I know… I just wanted to see how things were going between Gear and Pinkie." Life nodded. "Don't worry, they'll be fine." The three of them disappeared together.

**Sugar Cube Corner**

Pinkie burst through the front door with Gear following behind her. She once again nearly threw him into a chair and went behind the counter to get food. Gear sat in the chair dazed and was suddenly aware of somepony staring at him. He turned and found Mr. and Mrs. Cake watching him in surprise. "Good morning." He said. They nodded slightly. Pinkie came back a while later two very large cupcakes. Gear groaned. "Pinkie, I can't always eat this kind of food! I'll get diabetes or something!" She looked at him funny. "Dia-whaties? Anyway, eat up! I have a lot planned for today!" Mrs. Cake coughed. "Pinkie, when are you planning on working again?" Pinkie smiled at her. "Don't worry Mrs. Cake! I'll come back to work as soon as Gear here smiles!" Gear groaned and fell forward so that his head smacked the table.

Mrs. Cake looked at them worriedly. "Deary, I think Gear doesn't want you following him around." She said. Mr. Cake nodded in agreement. Pinkie smiled. "He hasn't said anything about wanting me to leave him alone! So he's ok with it!" Pinkie picked up Gear's head. "Aren't you hungry Gear?" He didn't respond. _'Maybe if I pretend I'm dead she'll get bored and leave.' _She broke off a piece of the cupcake and put it in his mouth. "Eat! It's easy, just watch me! She took a big bite out of her cupcake. "_Mmm, _delicious!" She said. He slowly looked up at her and swallowed the food in his mouth.

Once he had finally eaten his cupcake Pinkie paid for the meal and checked something off the list. "Great! Next I need to introduce you to all my friends! We'll have to go to Canterlot to meet one of them but that shouldn't be a problem!" She grabbed him by his vest again and began pulling him off. Gear glanced behind him and got sympathetic looks from Mr. and Mrs. Cake. Pinkie rushed toward Sweet Apple acres with Gear trailing behind her.

**Sweet Apple Acres**

Pinkie knocked on the door and a while later Jonathan opened the door. "Howdy, can I help ya?" He asked. Pinkie nodded and shoved Gear in front of her. "This is Gear! I'm showing him to all my friends, is Applejack here?" She asked. Gear waved slightly. Jonathan nodded and pointed to the apple trees. "Ma and Pa are out inspectin' the trees." Pinkie grabbed Gear by the vest and started pulling him toward the orchard. "Thanks John!" She yelled back. Jonathan looked at her funny. "John?"

Pinkie led Gear through the trees until they found Applejack and Maelstrom. "Hey ponies! Have you met Gear? He's my new friend! But he doesn't like smiling so I'm following him around today to make him smile!" She smiled and shoved Gear in front of her again. He frowned at the two ponies. "Hello. We met on the train." He said. Applejack nodded. "Howdy, how ya been?" Pinkie started pulling him again. "Come on! You have to meet the others!" Applejack watched them worriedly. "Do you think we should help him?" Maelstrom asked. Applejack shook her head. "Don't worry. Pinkie won't hurt him… intentionally…"

Pinkie dragged him to Fluttershy's house next. They stopped in front of the door and Pinkie knocked on it. Gear bent over panting. "Can… we not… go… so fast?" Gear asked. Fluttershy opened the door a moment later. "Oh hi Pinkie… Is something wrong?" She asked looking at Gear; he was still panting heavily. Pinkie glanced at him. "Oh he's just tired, this is Gear! He's my new friend! He doesn't like smiling so I'm introducing him to everypony!" Quick Shot wheeled over and looked at Gear. "Oh look, its Gear right? I saw you on the train." Gear nodded finally catching his breath. "Pinkie, I've already met them. I've also met Rarity and Steam already." He said. Pinkie smiled. "That's ok, that just puts us ahead of schedule!"

"I bet you haven't met Twilight and Hawkeye yet! You'll like Hawkeye! He's serious most of the time, just like you!" She grabbed him again and started pulling. He planted his feet firmly on Fluttershy's front step. "Please! Stop!" He said. She stopped and looked at him. "What's wrong? Don't you want to meet Twilight and Hawkeye?" He shook his head. "No! I just want to go home…" Fluttershy looked at him sadly. "You can rest here if you want, there's plenty of room." She gestured inside. He shook his head. "No. I just want to go to MY house. Pinkie, I'm sorry, but I don't want to keep going around with you today."

Pinkie frowned. "But you said we could do everything on the list." She pointed to the list. He shook his head. "I'm sorry Pinkie." He stepped down from the steps and began walking down the path. She followed him. "But… but!" He shook his head. She sniffed and hung her head as they walked along. He looked at her and sighed. _'Oh jeeze…' _"Well… I suppose we could finish the list… just because we already started…" She brightened up instantly. "Great! To the library!" Instead of dragging him she walked along side him happily. _'Well at least the pulling is over…' _


	5. Chapter 5 a trip to Canterlot

**Ok people, you really need to read the stuff in bold. I have explained before that if you haven't read the other fanfictions then you'll probably have no idea what's going on. If you have questions, READ THE FICS. Ponies of the military, ponies of the military 2 a new adventure, and the theif's lament. Read the stuff in bold from now on. If it's bold, IT'S IMPORTANT!**

The two of them stopped in front of the library. Pinkie knocked on the door loudly and stepped back. Twilight opened the door a while later. "Oh hello Pinkie, and hello Gear. Can I help you?" She asked. Pinkie shook her head. "I'm just showing Gear to all my friends! But he's already met everypony but you! Well except the time we bumped into you on the street! Remember that?" Twilight nodded. Pinkie pushed past her into the library pulling Gear behind her. "Is Hawkeye here? I want Gear to meet him!" Twilight shook her head. "He's in the Ever Free forest. He took an expedition to search some ruins more thoroughly." She said. Pinkie frowned. "He's in the Ever Free forest?! Why would any pony go there voluntarily?!" They couldn't tell, but Gear rolled his eyes. "Perhaps because nothing ever happens in the Ever Free forest?" They looked at him funny.

"You don't know the dangers of the forest?" Twilight asked. He shook his head. "I know about them, but they aren't dangerous if you know how to deal with them." He looked at Pinkie. "Is that all we had to do here?" Pinkie pulled out the list and checked something off. "Yup! I'd take you to see Rainbow Dash, but I have no idea where she is!" Pinkie exclaimed. Gear nodded. "Alrighty! Next we're having a picnic in the park! See you later Twilight!" Gear looked at the clock on the wall. "Um, Pinkie, It's only ten in the morning."

Pinkie frowned at the clock. "Oh! We're very far ahead of schedule! *gasp* we have enough time to go to Canterlot!" She exclaimed. Gear frowned slightly. "Why would we go there?" Twilight cleared her throat. "Pinkie, could you discuss this somewhere else? I need to clean." Pinkie nodded and pulled Gear outside. "I want to introduce you to Twilight's brother! He lives in Canterlot so we'll have to take the train! He's really nice; he's married to Princess Cadence too! I did the party for their wedding!" Gear nodded slightly. "All right then." Pinkie led him toward the train station.

Pinkie walked up to the ticket vendor. "Two tickets to Canterlot please!" The pony behind the counter pulled out two tickets and set them on the counter. Pinkie set some bits on the counter and took the tickets. "This is going to be fun! I haven't been to Canterlot since before the civil war! I wonder what it looks like now." Gear listened silently as she talked a mile a minute. When the train arrived they got on and sat down. A brown pony with a red Mohawk was sitting in the corner. A large cross bow with a scope lay on his lap. He glanced at them as they got on and went back to looking out the window.

Pinkie and Gear sat down near the doors and waited for the train to begin moving. "Isn't this exciting?! I love train rides! Especially when we go through tunnels cause it gets all dark and you're like, whoa! Who turned out the lights! And then you get out of the tunnel and its light again!" Gear stared out the window listening to her speak. _'How can she speak so quickly?!' _He thought. The brown pony in the corner was slowly getting more and more annoyed. Finally he turned to face them. "Do you ever shut up?! Someponies are trying to have a nice quiet ride! I can't do that if you're talking a mile a minute, Maggot!" He yelled at her.

"I'm sorry sir! I'm just really excited and I talk really quickly when I'm excited! I'm usually excited and happy so I'm always talking! I love talking! Almost as much as I like parties and smiling! Speaking of smiling, did you know my friend Gear doesn't like smiling? Who doesn't like-" The pony hefted the crossbow with one hoof and fired it. The bolt embedded itself less than an inch from Pinkie's neck. She jumped into Gear's lap. "Whoa! You have good aim! Where'd you learn to shoot like that?" She asked. He frowned fiercely. "What are you talking about Maggot? I missed." He said threateningly. She opened her mouth then closed it. She opened it again and raised a hoof then closed her mouth again. She looked at the crossbow bolt sticking out of the seat next to her. Gear set her on the seat on the other side of him. Pinkie didn't make a single noise for the rest of the ride. Gear nearly smiled in relief.

When the train arrived in Canterlot Pinkie stood up. Gear and the brown pony stood up as well. The pony walked over and yanked his crossbow bolt out of the seat. "The name's Whistling Arrow. Sorry about earlier, I'm just really pissed off right now. See ya later Maggots." He said. Gear watched as he walked away. Whistling Arrow's cutie mark was the cross hairs of a scope. "Well we're here! Let's go to the castle!" She pranced down the street smiling broadly. Gear followed behind her.

The guards let them pass when they came to the gate of the castle. Pinkie pranced on like she knew exactly where she was going. Gear followed behind her, nodding to the guards as he passed. The inside of the castle was just as he remembered it, except there weren't any construction materials or ponies around. Pinkie led him up through the castle toward Shinning's room. Gear was aware that a shadow was following them. _'Well, looks like Nightmare is still here.' _Pinkie knocked on a door and a moment later a pink alicorn opened it. "Pinkie! It's good to see you again! Why did you come?" She asked.

Pinkie motioned to Gear. "I'm showing Gear to all my friends! He's my new special somepony!" Gear jumped in surprise and looked at her. She grinned at him broadly. "Just kidding." Cadence smiled. "Well it's nice to meet you… Gear… I remember you! I saw you working on sections of the castle!" She smiled at him. He nodded expressionlessly. The princess frowned at him. "Is something wrong?" She asked. Pinkie shook her head. "Nope! Nothing wrong with him! He just doesn't like smiling! Isn't that crazy?! I mean, who doesn't like smiling! Is Shining here?" She said.

The princess nodded and motioned for them to come inside. Gear glanced back at the shadow and held up a hoof in greeting before walking inside. Pinkie was jumping up and down and talking excitedly about how Twilight was. He nodded every once and a while then noticed Gear. "Hello Gear. What brings you here?" He tilted his head slightly. "A very energetic pink pony brought me here." He said. Pinkie gaped at him. "No! I brought you here! Who's the pink energetic pony?!" She asked. Shining Armor laughed and Cadence grinned at her.

Gear shook his head. "You, Pinkie. You're the energetic pink pony." She nodded. "I know! I was just making a joke to make you laugh!" She responded. Shining smiled at her. "Well it was nice talking with you Pinkie, but I have places to be. If I'm right then Canterlot's best sniper should be here anytime now. I need to meet with him." Gear nodded. "Whistling Arrow? He got off the train with us. After firing his cross bow into the seat next to Pinkie." Shining jumped in surprise. "He's here?! I have to go now!" He rushed out of the room.

Cadence walked to the door and watched him rush down the hallway. Pinkie glanced at the clock. "Wow, we only killed two hours. Guess we can stay here for a while!" Gear nodded. "There's actually somepony I'd like to talk to as long as we're here. Why don't you go buy some train tickets and I'll meet up with you later." Gear said. Pinkie nodded. "Okie dokie loki!" She bounced out of the room. Gear nodded goodbye to cadence and stepped outside. He watched Pinkie go down the hall then looked around.

Nightmare was floating at the other end of the hallway. She turned into a pony as he neared her. "Greetings Gear. Is thou well?" she asked. Gear nodded. She smiled. "I did not expect thee to return so quickly. It will be nice to be able to talk to thee." He nodded and followed her down the hallway. She opened the door to a large room and stepped inside. It looked like a bedroom without a bed.

Nightmare sat down in a chair and motioned for Gear to sit as well. He took a seat across from her. "Why dost thou not fear me?" She asked. "I find fear and emotion unnecessary." She nodded. "I do not have much to talk about because thou hast returned so soon… is there anything thou want to know?" She asked. He thought for a moment before responding. "Why are you a floating cloud of darkness?" He asked. She laughed loudly. "That is the best description of me I have heard yet! I'm a floating cloud because I was resurrected without a body." She frowned when she realized she wasn't talking formally.

"I am sorry for not speaking properly." She said. Gear shook his head in wonder. "You don't have to speak like that. In fact, no pony speaks like that. Except Luna on occasion." He responded. She frowned. "Oh, ok… um… Is there anything else you want to know?" He nodded in satisfaction, she sounded much more normal now. "Well… are you going to try and make an endless night again?" She shook her head bitterly. "I've gotten over that. Besides, I made an agreement with Fate not to do that." Gear stared at her in confusion. "Who's Fate?" He asked.


	6. Chapter 6 picnic

Pinkie pranced happily down the street. She ignored the glares from the well-dressed ponies as she made her way to the castle. "Oh I can't wait to get back to Ponyville and have a picnic! It'll be so fun!" She said out loud. She bounced up the stairs of the castle inside and made her way up toward Shining's room. She didn't notice Whistling Arrow up ahead. "Slow down Maggot! You'll break something or somepony!" Whistling exclaimed. She stopped dead and looked at him in surprise.

"Hi Whistling Arrow…" She looked at the floor nervously. Whistling Arrow walked over to her and slapped a hoof onto her shoulder. "Call me Whistle. Don't worry! I can't shoot ya without my cross bow!" He laughed loudly. "See ya later Maggot!" He walked past her grinning broadly. Pinkie hurried in the opposite direction.

When she arrived at Shining's room Cadence was leaving. "Hi Cadence! Where's gear?" She asked. Cadence frowned. "He left when you left. I believe he turned to the right." She pointed down the hallway. "Thanks! See you around! If you need a party just ask me!" Pinkie bounced away happily. She stopped in front of one of the doors and listened.

_"Two pair." _She heard from inside. "That sounds like Gear!" She opened the door and walked inside. "Geeeeeeeear!" She called out. He was sitting at a table in the room. On the table was a deck of cards. Five cards were laid out in the center of the table and two cards were on the table next to Gear. He looked at her as she walked in. "I got the tickets Gear!" She took a step toward him and noticed Nightmare sitting in the other table.

"Ah! Nightmare! Run Gear!" She ran very quickly out the door leaving a cloud of dust shaped like her behind. Gear gathered up the cards. "Well I suppose I should go now. It was nice visiting you. Work on your poker face, I could tell exactly what you had." He put the cards in one of the pouches. Nightmare smiled at him. "Yes, I will work on that. Next time I shall defeat you!" She stood up and closed the door when he left.

"Pinkie!" He called out. She was nowhere in sight. "Oh well…" He began walking in the direction he thought would take him outside. After a while he found Pinkie hiding under a small table. He ignored her and kept walking. _'She'll follow.' _He thought. She did follow him out. "What were you doing with Nightmare!? Don't you know she's dangerous!? She eats children and tries to turn Equestria dark!" Gear shook his head in amusement. "Where did you hear that? She seemed lonelier than anything else; and bored."

Pinkie tried to explain to him everything that had happened when Nightmare had returned. She was finishing up the story when they arrived at the train station. There was a big closed sign on the ticket booth. "Well it's a good thing I got tickets! I wonder why no pony's here." She said. The pony who ran the ticket booth stepped out of the booth. "Everypony's going to see the execution. The One Eyed Thief turned himself in this morning."

Gear nodded. "That might be interesting to watch." He said. Pinkie shook her head. "No! We're going to Ponyville to have a picnic! After that there's more stuff to do so be quiet and wait for the train!" She exclaimed. He stared at her in surprise. He shook his head and walked over to a bench to sit down on. The ticket vendor left in the direction of the center square. Pinkie sat down next to Gear happily and rested her head on his shoulder. He moved slightly to the side and she followed him. He scooted over to the edge of the bench and she scooted over as well. She rested her head on his shoulder again and he sighed in annoyance.

**Ponyville**

The train stopped in the station and Pinkie got out. Gear followed behind her and looked at a clock hanging on the wall. It was twelve thirty. Pinkie gasped, "Gear! We've gotta hurry! If we don't we'll be late for the picnic! And if we're late for the picnic we'll be behind schedule and that wouldn't be good at all! Hurry!" She grabbed him by his vest and yanked him in the direction of the outskirts of Ponyville.

She dragged him through the streets and out of the town. Pinkie then rushed up a hill to the top where a picnic basket and blanket was waiting. She sat Gear down on the blanket and started rummaging through the basket. "What's on the list after lunch?" Gear asked once he regained his breath. Pinkie pulled out a glass bottle and two glasses. "Well then I'm going to show you where I work! Then we'll set up for the sleep over at your house!" She pulled out a container of fruit and a container of honey rolls.

"Oh, ok… wait, what?" Gear asked. Pinkie giggled and removed some plates from the basket. "The sleep over silly! We're going to have a sleep over! That way I don't have to sneak in through the window tomorrow morning. Actually you probably would have locked the windows so I would have come down the chimney! But then I'd be all dirty and need a shower! Isn't that crazy?! Unless you clean your chimney regularly! I-" Gear clamped a hoof over her mouth.

"Pinkie. We'll discuss this after lunch. I'm hungry and don't feel like talking." He removed his hoof from her mouth. "You never want to talk!" Pinkie complained. She opened the bottle and poured the liquid into the cups. "It's punch! You didn't try any at your party so I saved some for you to drink!" She exclaimed. He looked at the punch warily. Pinkie opened the containers and put food on each plate. "Well! Eat up!" And with that she fell forward onto the plate to eat without her hoofs. Gear shook his head in amusement but still refused to smile. While she wasn't looking he tossed the contents of the glass behind him.

When lunch was finished Pinkie packed up everything that was left over and balanced it on her head. "This way to Sugar Cube Corner!" She exclaimed. They walked down the hill and back into town. Once inside the shop Pinkie tossed the basket into a corner behind the counter and led Gear to the back room. Mr. and Mrs. Cake were inside baking different sweets. "Oh good! You're back! It's been a slow day thank goodness but we still need you around!" Mrs. Cake said. Pinkie saluted. "Don't worry Mrs. Cake! I'll take over here! Gear will help me!" She said.

Gear started in surprise. "What?! Dammit Pinkie I'm an engineer not a baker!"

**Lol, Star Trek reference. You know, Dammit Jim I'm a Doctor not a *blank* Anyway…**

Pinkie smiled at him. "Don't worry its easy!" She shooed the Cakes out of the kitchen and put on an apron. She then tossed one at Gear. He put it on slowly. "Now then! We need flour, sugar, milk…" She trailed off as she looked through the fridge. Gear looked around the kitchen. _'Well it can't be that different than cooking biscuits…' _Pinkie stood up from the fridge with a bunch of ingredients. "Don't worry! It's kinda like cooking biscuits!" She exclaimed. He jumped in surprise. _'What the?' _

Pinkie began mixing the ingredients together in a bowl. "Gear, find the mixer and the cupcake tins!" She said. He started rummaging through the cabinets until he found the requested items. He put them down next to Pinkie and stepped back. "Good! Now heat the oven. I didn't like the numbers so I replaced them with pictures! Set it to cupcake!" She said. He walked over and turned the dial until it pointed at a picture of a cupcake. He noticed there was also a setting for cake, muffins, biscuits, rolls, and a question mark.

"Pinkie? What's the question mark do?" He asked. She gasped. "I almost forgot about that!" She turned the knob to the question mark and a huge flame appeared inside. She waited a moment then set it down to cupcake again. "Got to clean the oven before using it!" She said. Gear shook his head in wonder. "Why a question mark? Why not a flame or something?" He asked. She laughed as though his question was the dumbest thing she'd ever heard. "Because if I made it a flame the shop would burn down! Duh!" He stared at her in confusion. "I'm pretty sure a picture can't burn down a house." He said.

After Pinkie finished everything she needed to do at work she followed Gear home. He opened the door and walked inside. "Good! I'll go get the food ready while you take a shower! You stink!" She said happily and pranced to the kitchen. Gear stood for a moment then pulled his vest open and sniffed it. "Smells fine to me…" He mumbled. He walked up the stairs and too his bedroom. He noticed a sleeping bag on the right edge of his bed. _'Does she expect me to use that? Or does she think she'll be sleeping with me?'_ He shook his head and began removing his clothing.


	7. Chapter 7 surprise

**Jeeze, sorry for the long wait. My school recently spent thousands of dollars on I-pads for the students. I like to call them gaming devices. Anyway I hope you like this chapter and from now on I will try to post at least twice a week. If I fail to meet these deadlines I will give everyone my adress so you can come break my knee caps for being late. Deal? XD**

After carefully hanging his vest and boots in his closet, Gear stepped into the bathroom. The small white room had a mirror, a toilet, a sink, a shower, and a towel rack. He walked to the shower and pulled back the curtain. He considered taking off his goggles but didn't. Gear turned on the water and waited until it was a good temperature. He stood letting the water fall onto his back for a while before turning to reach for the soap. He jumped back and pressed his back against the wall when he found Pinkie in a shower cap standing in the shower with him.

She smiled broadly. "Oh please! How could you not expect me to do this!? With all the crazy stuff I've done I'm surprised you're still surprised to see me!" Gear stared at her in fear, his heart pumping twice as fast from shock. "Please get out." He said. She rolled her eyes. "Yeah, didn't have too much hope for this one but I had to try! Don't worry! Dinner's ready. Just come down when you're done clinging to the wall." She hopped out of the shower smiling. _'She's crazy!' _He thought. Behind his goggles his eyes were wide open and staring straight ahead. Gear stepped away from the wall and sighed. "Haven't felt fear in a while… it's… interesting…" His heart was still pumping at an abnormal speed.

Pinkie smiled when she heard Gear turn off the shower. She poured them both a glass of water and set a sandwich on each of their plates. _'Oh I hope Gear likes the sandwiches! Maybe he'll smile because they're so good!' _She grinned and shivered with excitement. A bit later Gear walked down wearing only his goggles. He examined the contents of the table and nodded in approval. "Oh good, vegetables, you didn't put a pound of sugar on these did you?" He asked. She smiled and responded giggling, "Only on mine!" His mouth twitched but he managed not to smile.

Gear sat down and scooted his chair up to the table. Pinkie picked up the sandwich and waited for him to do the same before taking a bite. He took a bite of the sandwich and chewed it carefully. He tasted daisies, lettuce, tomatoes, and something else. He couldn't quite figure out what it was. "What's on the sandwiches?" He asked. Pinkie smiled. "Lettuce, Tomato, Daisies, and hot sauce!" She said. He stopped chewing and looked at the sandwich. He was vaguely aware of the spiciness now. It slowly got worse until his mouth felt like it was burning. "Why?!" He choked out before grabbing his glass of water. She frowned. "What's wrong?" He drained the water quickly and coughed. "That didn't help at all!" He exclaimed. He quickly ate the rest of the sandwich and ran to the sink. Pinkie watched him in surprise as he turned on the water and let it run directly into his mouth.

After a minute Pinkie finished her sandwich and walked over to him. She looked at him concerned. "Hey, are you alright?" He turned off the water and sat on the floor panting. He nodded his head and stared across the room in a daze. Pinkie sat down next to him and leaned on his shoulder. "I'm sorry Gear, I didn't know you didn't like spicy things." He shook his head and regained control of his breath. "It's not your fault." He scratched his head bit his lip. Pinkie smiled and leaned over to look him in the face. "You know you want to smile!" She said tauntingly. Gear shook his head and looked in the opposite direction.

Pinkie picked herself up off the floor and walked over to the table to begin clearing it. Gear stood up and walked over. "I'll get that." He said. Pinkie shrugged and walked toward the stairs happily. She stopped at the bottom and turned to face him. "I like you Gear, even though you don't smile." She turned and walked up the stairs. Gear looked down at the floor and scuffed a hoof across it in embarrassment. He could hear her humming something upstairs as he cleared the table of plates and glasses.

**The palace**

Luna and Pain walked down the hallway side by side as they made their way toward Luna's room. Pain occasionally wiped away a little blood from his mouth as they went. Luna glanced back at him and frowned. "Are you alright?" Pain nodded his head and smiled. "Just not as strong as I used to be. In a couple weeks I should stop bleeding everywhere." Luna watched him skeptically until she tripped over a rug on the floor. She cried out in surprise and stumbled to a halt. Pain laughed, "How graceful. You are the very image of majesty." He said grinning broadly.

Luna glared at him but couldn't help but smile at him. She examined him closely as they stood. He was tall, with a dark red coat and eyes to match it; his mane was more of a mahogany color. His cutie mark was six drops of blood surrounding a perfectly spherical bloodstone. He smiled at her intently as she looked at him. A guard entered the hallway from a side door and started in surprise. "Good evening your majesty, and guest." He said in a deep gruff voice. Luna looked away to the guard realizing she had just been staring at Pain. "Uh, good evening guard." Luna and Pain looked away from each other blushing. The guard raised an eyebrow and walked off in the opposite direction. Luna had no doubt there would be rumors spread around by morning.

The two started walking along the hall again. Luna stared at the floor as they went along until they reached a large set of doors. She opened them with magic and the two stepped inside. Luna shut the door behind them and gracefully walked over to her bed. Pain stood near the door and examined the room. It was fairly large with dark blue walls and stars painted everywhere. The bed was also dark blue with sheets of thin fabric hanging off the ceiling around it. "It's been a long time since we've seen each other, hasn't it…" Pain said slowly. Luna nodded and pulled the fabric away leaving an opening to the bed. "Yes, almost two thousand years now." She responded. Pain nodded and rubbed the back of his neck.

"I was… imprisoned before you were… banished… will you tell me about that?" Pain asked. Luna looked at the floor and sighed. "Yes… I was upset because ponies would do things during the day and just sleep through the night. So I decided to make it eternally nighttime. That's when I became nightmare moon." Pain nodded and walked over to her. Luna shifted uncomfortably and continued. "My sister then used the elements to defeat me and banish me to the moon." Luna sat down on the bed and patted the spot next to her. Pain sat down next to her. "If you're nightmare moon then how is that shadowy thing here?" He asked. Luna chuckled. "Shadowy thing, nice description. I suppose she's just a projection of me? Or maybe when Twilight and her friends defeated me all that time ago the part of me that was nightmare separated from me. Whatever it is I can assure you that that is not me." Pain nodded and smiled.

"It's nice to just sit and talk after being trapped so long. Luna frowned. "I never understood that. How were you imprisoned?" She asked. Pain frowned at her. "Celestia didn't tell you? She chased me into the ever free forest then used the elements to trap me in a circle of cairn stones." Luna looked at him in surprise. "My sister? Why would she do that?" Pain shrugged and looked to the clock on the wall. "Well it's almost time for you to raise the moon… I don't need to sleep but it helps… so goodnight." He began to rise from the bed but Luna pulled him down. "Wait, you don't have to go, all I really need to do is raise the moon. After that we can keep talking." She said. Pain smiled and sat back down. "As you wish your majesty." He said teasingly. Luna giggled and leaned her head on his shoulder. Pain leaned his head onto hers and closed his eyes contently.


	8. Chapter 8 construction

**Holy crap this took forever. It's not that it was hard, it was just insanely difficult to focus on it. Sorry it took so long. Also I am accepting character ideas, I need an architect first off. You can Pm me or contact me on Steam, Deviantart, and my email- garnetfrogathotmaildotcom. All my usernames are garnetfrog so that shouldn't be too difficult. I LIKE FROGS. Hope you enjoy, I'll try to post the next chapter today.**

Gear nodded in satisfaction as he looked around the kitchen. Everything was put away neatly and every surface was almost sparkling. With one final check to make sure he hadn't missed anything he started toward the stairs. At the bottom he stopped and listened. He could hear Pinkie was still humming something. He shook his head and made his way up the wooden stairs to his room. The door to the bathroom was closed and there was a light coming out from under it. Gear walked over to his bed and pulled back the covers. A small alligator looked up at him. Pinkie came out of the bathroom and gasped when she saw the alligator. "Snappy! What are you doing in Gear's bed?!" She ran over and grabbed it by the back of its head. "You're more troublesome than Gummy was!" She scolded it. Gear stared at her blankly until she noticed he was there.

"Oh there you are Gear! This is Snappy! I used to have a different one named Gummy but he grew up and had to leave so I found another one! Gummy didn't have teeth but Snappy does! He really likes punch, just like Gummy did, isn't that cool!" Gear rolled his eyes and slipped under the covers of his bed. Pinkie laughed and set Snappy down in a small basket Gear hadn't noticed before. Gear sat up and picked up the sleeping bag to throw it on the floor. "Hey! That's mine!" Pinkie exclaimed. She ran over and set it back down on the bed. She then dove into the sleeping bag causing the entire bed to rattle. Gear grunted in surprise. "Why are you sleeping on my bed?" He asked. Pinkie rolled her eyes. "Well to sleep, duh." Gear shook his head. "Couldn't you do that on the floor?" Pinkie laughed like Gear didn't know anything and that it was amusing to her.

"You don't have a guest bed so I can't sleep in that; you don't have a sleeping bag so you can't sleep on the floor, and sleeping in the same bed as you would be weird. That's why I have the sleeping bag!" Gear shook his head in confusion. "That still leaves the possibility of YOU sleeping on the floor." He said. Pinkie rolled her eyes. "We have to sleep at the same height at a sleep over! It's a rule!" Pinkie said. She settled in to the sleeping bed and closed her eyes smiling. "That… doesn't make sense, I've never had a sleep over but I'm pretty sure that's not a rule." Pinkie didn't respond. Instead she rolled over facing away from him. Gear slapped his forehead and shook his head. _'Just tonight, then she's gone. She said so! Didn't she? I can't remember…' _He lay his head down on his pillow and faced the opposite direction from Pinkie. _'I hope this job is over soon…' _He closed his eyes and fell asleep.

**The next morning**

Gear slowly woke up and was aware of something pressing up against him. He very slowly shifted so that he could see Pinkie. Sure enough she was sleeping right next to him with one of her arms around him. He cautiously moved her arm to her side and stood as slowly as possible. He then crept to the closet and gathered his things before going downstairs. He took a sheet of paper and a pen and wrote a message for Pinkie. He heard her sigh upstairs and jumped in fright. He sprinted to the door and ran from the house as quietly as he could. Halfway down the street he managed to get both of his boots on and make his mane presentable. He didn't stop running until he made it to the main square. There construction workers were already setting up materials and roping off the area. Gear looked behind him and sighed in relief when he didn't see pinkie. He composed himself then walked over to the pony in charge of construction.

Pinkie woke up and found Gear missing from the bed. "Huh? I wonder where he went." She slowly half stood half fell from the bed. The stairs creaked as she walked down to the first floor. On the counter was a note. She picked it up and read out loud.

"Dear Pinkie, I have left because I have to work today. Please do not bother me at the construction site. Also please remove your self from my house. Yesterday was interesting but I would very much appreciate you never making me do it again. Sincerely, Gear Axis." Pinkie thought for a moment. "Gear Axis? What kind of name is Axis?" She set the note down and pranced upstairs happily to gather her things. "Oooooh! I should surprise him at the construction site! I'll bring him lunch!" She carried all of her things on her back to the door then stopped. "Oh… he said not to bother him there…" She thought for a moment then smiled evilly. "He only said I couldn't BOTHER him there. He never said I VISIT him there." She congratulated herself on her genius and left the house.

Pinkie pranced along happily until she heard a pony's voice she had hoped to never hear again, which was rare for her considering she tried to make friends with everypony. "Hey! Open your eyes Maggot! Do you ever watch where you're going?" She flinched with dread and forced a smile. "Hello Whistle. How are you?" Whistle grinned at her. "What? Am I intimidating or something?" He laughed loudly at his joke. Pinkie laughed nervously and examined him. She hadn't noticed before but he was actually kind of tall. About as tall as Twilight's brother Shinning. She noticed a light pink alicorn standing a bit behind him and to the left. She brightened up instantly. "Hi! My name is Pinkie! Who are you? Where are you from? Should I throw you a party? Do you know Whistle? Are you related to him? Are you-" Whistle put a hoof in her mouth and the Alicorn just stood glaring at her murderously. "Her name's Princess Crystal Gem. She's a friend of mine and she's in trouble. She's here for protection, not to be interrogated by spazzy little pink puffballs." Pinkie nodded and he took his hoof out of her mouth. "Come on Crystal, we've got time to kill before the train arrives." Crystal tried to suppress laughter. "Spazzy pink Puffball? I like that description, covers just about everything, doesn't it?" She said. Whistle smiled and nodded. "Heh, you like my jokes maybe you'll start liking me." Crystal rolled her eyes and they walked on past Pinkie. "That will happen a week from never." Crystal said to Whistle as they walked away. Pinkie frowned after them then walked off toward Sugar Cube Corner to drop off her things.

**The construction site**

Gear watched expressionlessly as the ponies dug a hole in the center of the square. There was a water line that they would be using to fill the fountain already down there. He stood silently watching as they dug with shovels and pick axes. Two ponies were standing off to the side drinking mugs of coffee and a third one behind them was taking inventory of all the materials they had on site. He turned around to look at the table behind him; it was full of different blueprints and sheets of paper. The architect said he was going to be watching them build the fountain but so far he hadn't shown up. Or she, he hadn't met the architect yet. Gear picked up the blue print and looked at the fountain. It was going to be fairly large with a pillar in the center supporting a stone sun and moon. Water was supposed to come out of the top of the pillar and waterfall down into the basin. It was a simple yet elegant design he thought. He set the blueprint down and noticed a pink pony walking toward him with a big smile.

Gear sighed and stood still until she reached him. "I asked you not to come here." He said. Pinkie grinned and dropped a bag she had been carrying. "You only said I couldn't bother you here, I'm just visiting and dropping off lunch for you! It's a sandwich, without hot sauce this time!" She said proudly. Gear picked up the bag and looked inside. There was a sandwich and an apple inside as well. He nodded in approval. "Thank you. But you really aren't allowed to be in here. This is a construction zone and-" He looked up at her and found she was wearing a hardhat. "Don't worry silly! I came prepared!" He shook his head. "I thought you were just visiting!" She giggled and sat down. "I am! I'm visiting you until you leave!" She said. Gear noticed the two construction workers were nudging each other and snickering. "Pinkie, don't you have a job or something?" He protested. She shook her head vigorously. Nothing was ever small or subtle with her. "Mr. and Mrs. Cake said I could be off work until you smile! It took a lot of convincing and talking and talking and convincing but I finally got them to agree! They're such nice ponies and they have babies! Did you know that! I baby sit for them all the time and they really like me! Why just the other day I was-" Gear sighed as he listened to her prattle on about the babies. _'This is going to be a long job…' _He glanced at the two ponies. They noticed that they were being watched and made kissy faces at him.


	9. Chapter 9 talks

**Yes! I did it! I focused and got the next chapter posted! Well any way I hope you enjoy. Characters I need at the moment are an architect and a metal smith. Gender and type don't matter.**

Gear stood frowning as Pinkie continued speaking to him faster than he could make sense of. They had started on Mr. and Mrs. Cake and now he was pretty sure they were on the topic of astrology. He had no idea what she was talking about. The ponies continued digging until the finally hit the pipe line. Gear relaxed a little and walked over to the hole. Pinkie followed him still talking a mile a minute. They stopped next to the hole and Gear turned to Pinkie. "Then I said 'oatmeal? Are you crazy?!'" He put a hoof up to his mouth and drew it across like he was zipping it shut. Pinkie nodded and repeated the motion. Gear rolled his eyes and looked down into the hole.

A small pipe lay at the bottom. A pony was clamping something onto two different areas of pipe. He watched intently as they welded off a section and put a different piece of pipe in place. Next they put more pipes onto it until it was sticking above the ground a bit. By then the sun was in the center of the sky and the town bell rang twelve times to signify that it was mid day. Gear walked over to the table with the blue prints and took the bag off of it. Pinkie followed behind him happily. Gear sat down and pulled out the sandwich. The construction workers were doing the same. "These ponies work really fast! When will the new fountain be done?!" She asked. Gear shook his head. "I don't know, around two or three days I think. That's assuming absolutely nothing goes wrong."

Pinkie nodded her head and smiled broadly when he bit into the sandwich. "How's it taste?!" She asked. He shrugged. "It's a sandwich." He said. Pinkie laughed. "Well of course it is silly! But how does it taste?" Gear opened his mouth to answer but a pony walked over to him. "You the engineer?" He asked in a gruff voice. Gear nodded and stood putting the sandwich back into the bag. The worker nodded. "We need to know if we made the right measurements, Girder over there thinks we're off." Gear nodded and took a tape measure out of one of his pouches. The two walked away from Pinkie toward the pit. Pinkie sat watching them for a bit then pulled the apple out of the bag. "Well this isn't working, I need to step up my game!" She took a big bite out of the apple and smiled. "Mmmm!" She then happily went back to eating the apple.

**The castle**

Pain and Luna were just exiting Luna's room when Princess Celestia came walking down the hall. Before she could see, Luna shoved Pain into the room and shut the door. "Good morning sister!" Luna called out and began walking to intercept her. "Good morning Luna, did you stay in your room all night? That's not like you at all?" Luna nodded. "I was feeling a bit ill but I'm better now!" She said. Princess Celestia raised an eyebrow but kept walking. "I was going to go for a walk; would you like to join me?" She asked. Luna smiled and nodded. They walked past Luna's door down the hall and rounded the corner. Pain slowly opened the door and peered out. Seeing no pony in the hallway he exited and quietly shut the door. He could here hoof steps coming his way so he walked away from the door as though just out walking. He passed General Hawkeye and nodded his head as he passed. "Ah Pain! Just who I was looking for, I'm assembling an exploration team. I'm not entirely sure what your skill set is but Princess Celestia recommended you. So how bout it?" Pain blinked in surprise. "Ah, um, sure?" Hawkeye nodded in approval. "Alright, just got to gather the others now. Meet me in Ponyville tomorrow around noon." With that, Hawkeye walked away. Pain watched him leave astonished. _'Wait, what did I just agree to?' _

Luna and Celestia walked out of the castle and into the gardens. All around them was beautiful flowers, trees, and plants. Birds chirped and animals scurried through the bushes. Celestia sighed with contentment and stopped. She turned and looked at Luna. "Luna, do you really think there are things I don't know about in the castle? Would you like to tell me what actually happened last night?" Luna jumped in surprise. "What! Nothing happened last night, I felt ill and decided to sleep." She said. The princess raised an eyebrow. "So if I ask the maid, there won't be any blood on your sheets? Pain bleeds an awful lot you know." Luna looked at the ground nervously. "I uh, accidentally cut myself last night and didn't notice until I was already in bed. Then I healed it with magic. So yes, the maid will find blood." Luna smiled up at her sister nervously.

Celestia sighed in annoyance. "Luna. I know you brought Pain into your room last night. Now, I don't know what happened after he got into your room but I still know he was there! What were you thinking?!" She asked. Luna turned her head in defiance. "What I do with Pain is none of your business. All we did was talk and then he slept while I lay thinking. That is all." She said. Celestia sighed and put a hoof on Luna's shoulder. "Luna, I just don't want you to be hurt!" Luna glared at her fiercely. "How? How could I be hurt? Pain is the nicest most considerate pony I've ever met! He's immortal as well so neither of us will eventually die like you and-" Celestia cut her off. "He is a demon! I didn't even know demons existed until we met him! He is not a pony and I doubt he is capable of love!" She said. Luna glared at her for a bit then remembered the conversation she and Pain had had last night. "Why did you trap him?" Celestia backed up in surprise. "What?" She asked. "Why did you seal him in the circle of cairn stones?" Luna stepped forward watching her sister defiantly. Celestia relaxed a little. "Luna, you must be tired, why don't you go to bed?" Luna stared at her murderously. The princess sighed in defeat and hung her head. "I tried to warn him. I told him to stay away from you. When he didn't stop seeing you I had to do something. I was only doing what was best for you!" She said. Luna stared at her shocked. "You did what?!" Luna backed up a couple of paces in total shock. "Look! Luna! I only did it because I love you and I don't want to see any harm come to you!" Luna shook her head trying to hold back tears. She stood for a moment then ran out of the garden. "LUNA!" The Princess called out.

Luna ran through the halls until she physically rammed into General Hawkeye. Hawkeye flew back a couple of feet and Luna stumbled forward onto the floor with a thud. Hawkeye lay on his back staring at the ceiling in shock. "Hey! How'd the ceiling get in front of me?" He asked. Princess Luna stood slowly and looked over at him. He wasn't moving and she hadn't heard his comment. "Oh my goodness! I've killed him!" She exclaimed. Hawkeye blinked and looked at her with wide eyes. "Whoa. Wasn't expecting that!" Luna gasped in relief and rushed over to help him up. "I am so sorry General! I didn't mean to…" Hawkeye chuckled. "Don't worry. Besides! I'll have to congratulate you on making walking down the hallway a contact sport." He shook his head and blinked a couple of times. He grinned at Luna who smiled weakly and looked at the floor. "What's wrong Princess? I'm fine! Really!" She shook her head. "It's not you; I just need some time to think." Hawkeye grinned. "As long as you don't make THINKING a contact sport as well." Luna smiled. Hawkeye dusted himself off and looked down the hall. "Well, if you don't need anything else I'll just leave now." Luna put a hoof on his shoulder. "Wait, could I talk to you?" Hawkeye frowned then nodded. "I suppose, but only for a bit, I have things to do believe it or not!" Luna nodded. "Thank you General." Hawkeye smiled. "Call me Hawkeye." He said. Luna nodded. "Only if you call me Luna." She said. Hawkeye saluted and smiled.


	10. Chapter 10 disagreement

**Well here's the next chapter. I ended up making my own architect. I still need a metal smith. If you have a suggestion pm me or contact me at hotmail, deviantart, or steam. My user is Garnetfrog for everything.**

Hawkeye followed Luna back the way he had come to her room. She shut the door behind them and motioned for him to take a seat in one of the chairs. He sat down awkwardly in his armor and watched her intently. Luna sat down in a chair across from him and used magic to drag a table in between them. "Well… do you want something to drink or eat?" Hawkeye shook his head. "No, now what did you want to talk about?" Luna looked worried. "No, I could get a servant to fetch something if-" Hawkeye interrupted her. "Luna. If you don't actually want to talk I have things to do." Luna looked down at the table. "Well… I was just talking to my sister and she said some things that really upset me…" Hawkeye nodded and rolled his eyes. "Yes, yes, go on." He said. He glanced at the clock on the wall and sighed. "You know Pain right? Well, he and I are… uh…" Hawkeye suppressed a laugh. "You want to take advice from a general about relationships? Wouldn't Cadence be better suited for a chat like this?" Luna flinched as though he had just insulted her.

Hawkeye relaxed a little. "Hey, I'm sorry. I'm just really busy. Please, continue." He said. Luna nodded. "Well Pain isn't exactly a pony, for now let's just say he's immortal like me. I found out a while ago that my sister trapped him in a prison because she thought it would be best for me not to see him." Hawkeye nodded and leaned back in the chair to think. "Hmm… so what exactly do you want my advice on?" Luna continued to gaze at the table for a while before answering. "I don't know what to do… should I listen to my sister? Or should I go my own way?" Hawkeye shifted in the chair and glanced at the clock. "Well… As a general serving under your sister I would say 'Listen to your sister, she is wise and knows what's best."' Luna looked about ready to cry. "Oh… ok…" Hawkeye interrupted her again. "However, I'm here as a friend; and as a friend I'd say you have a right to decide who you want to date. Is that the term you use here? Still can't get used to the language…" Hawkeye said muttering the last part. Luna brightened up instantly. "Really!? That's great! Thank you Hawkeye! I need to tell Pain!" She stood up from the chair. Hawkeye hastily stood as well. "Uh, not to intentionally upset you but Pain is on his way to Ponyville. He's coming on a little expedition with me." Luna started in surprise. "He is? Why?" Hawkeye frowned. "Your sister recommended him, said he was perfect for the job… is something wrong?" Luna ran past him outside in rage.

**Ponyville**

Gear finished his lunch as he watched the workers fill in the hole they had dug. He stuck a hoof in the paper bag for the apple he had found in it earlier but it was empty. He frowned into the empty bag then looked over at Pinkie. She smiled at him. "What! I was hungry!" Gear sighed and set the paper bag on the table with the blue prints. When he turned around Pinkie was gone. He jumped in surprise and looked around. "Your Marefriend just ran off in the direction of Sugar Cube Corner." One of the workers said grinning. Gear sat down on the ground and pulled out his pistol. He then began to pretend to examine it. "Thanks. But she's not my Marefriend." He aimed the gun at the worker and looked down the side of the barrel. "Yup, still straight. I wonder if the trigger still works." He said. The worker yelped and jumped to the side.

Gear put the gun away and watched the pony until he went back to work. None of the workers dared to bother him after that. A while later there was a tap on his shoulder. He turned around expecting Pinkie with a pie to throw at him or something but instead a cream colored mare stood behind him. Her mane was a tan color with a white streak down the center. "Can I help you?" He asked. She smiled at him and stuck out a hoof. "The name's Marble Pillar, I'm the architect." Gear nodded. "Nice to meet you Ms. Pillar. They've already got the pipe system ready." She nodded and examined the workers. Gear glanced at her flank. Her cutie mark was, believe it or not, a marble pillar. "Oh! What's your name! I forgot to ask!" Gear looked at her eyes. They were a very pretty blue color. "I'm Gear Axis, the engineer." Marble nodded and went back to watching the workers. A moment later Pinkie ran over to him. "OhmygoshGearIjustgotthisreal lystrangeletterfromtheprince ssandihavetogonowsoillseeyou laterbye!" Gear grabbed her by the mane. "Hold. Repeat that slower." Pinkie nodded. "Oh my gosh, Gear! I just got this really strange letter from the Princess and I have to go now so I'll see you later, bye!" She said and ran off.

Marble blinked in surprise. "Who was that?" She asked. Gear closed his eyes and looked at the ground. "Her name's Pinkie Pie, she's the village sugar addict." Marble laughed loudly and put a hoof around him. "Ha! I like you Gear! We'll be good friends! I can tell!" She said. Gear nodded. One of the workers glanced at him and he put a hoof on one of his pouches. The pony jumped and went back to work hastily.

**The castle**

Luna rushed through the halls toward the garden. She ran until she found herself outside, she then walked calmly into the garden. Princess Celestia was nowhere to be found. A gardener was watering plants nearby. "Hello? Where did my sister go?" The gardener jumped and bowed quickly. "I haven't seen her, your highness." Luna nodded and walked toward the castle. She stopped in the main hall and closed her eyes tiredly. _'I need to sleep…' _She opened her eyes and began walking again. Luna wandered around the castle until she finally stopped in front of the throne room. She pushed the door open and found Twilight, Rarity, Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash, Applejack, and Pinkie Pie standing in a circle. It sounded like they were asking somepony questions. On one of the thrones sat Celestia. Luna walked past the group angrily and stopped in front of her. "Sister! What is the meaning of this?! Why would you send Pain away!" The princess looked at her in surprise. Everypony watched them silently. "I think he would benefit the expedition." She replied. Luna glared at her fiercely. "You just want to take him away from me!" She nearly shouted. The princess calmly stood from the throne and walked down to face Luna. "Luna, you look tired, why don't you go get some rest. It will make you feel better." Luna growled in frustration. "Why is it so important that Pain not be with me?!" Luna was aware of everypony staring at her. The Princess narrowed her eyes. "This is not the appropriate time to speak of this."

Luna stamped her foot on the ground making the tile crack. "It's never the 'appropriate time' with you! Just tell me!" Twilight walked up to the two sisters. "I don't mean to get into something I'm not supposed to, but what's going on?" Luna glared to the side and Celestia looked at Twilight softly. "This isn't your concern Twilight, please, you and your friends leave." Twilight looked at the two in concern. The others left but Applejack stopped at the door. "Come on Twi, we should leave them be." Twilight nodded and left the room hesitantly. Luna glared at her sister again. "I spoke with the Gen- Hawkeye about this; he thinks I should be allowed to be with whoever I want to be with! That is exactly what I intend to do so stop trying to prevent me!" Celestia watched her calmly with rage in her eyes. "Luna, I do what is best for you. I will not allow you to continue seeing Pain." Luna burst out in anger. "Why! Why can I not be with him?! WHY!" The windows shook from the sound waves of her voice. The Princess looked at her in shock. It took her a bit to regain her composure. "Because he is a demon! I didn't know they existed until we met him but all the others after him have done nothing but hurt Equestria! He can't be trusted; just like we can't trust Nightmare or Discord!" The princess said fiercely. A voice near them made them both jump. It was discord in one of the windows. "Now that's just hurtful! I'm a perfectly trustable… guy." He said. The two sisters looked away from him in embarrassment.


	11. Chapter 11 Beasty

Gear and Pillar were sitting in the shade under a tree watching the construction when Pinkie returned. It was almost dark and the workers were preparing to pack up for the day. "Hi Gear! I'm back now! Did you miss me? Well of course you did! I was away so long it wouldn't be possible to miss me seeing how good a friend you are! Did you know the construction site looks like a big smudge in a train? A lot of things look like smudges when you're on a train though!" Gear sat listening intently while she spoke. He glanced over at Pillar and found her staring at Pinkie blankly. Pinkie then seemed to notice her presence. "Oh hi! I'm Pinkie Pie! Are you new here? Do you know Gear? Gear is my friend!" Pillar continued to stare at her blankly. She then leaned over to Gear. "I'm not sure what she just said, she talks to fast." Gear nodded. "She asked if you're new here and if you know me." Pillar smiled. "Ah, yes I'm new here, and I met Gear a while ago." Pinkie grabbed her hoof and shook it until Pillar's entire body was shaking. "Well it's really nice to meet you! My name's Pinkie! Oh wait! I already said that!" She then stopped suddenly and gasped. "This deserves a party!" She yelled. Pillar wobbled around stunned. Gear put a hoof on her shoulder to steady her. "A party?" She asked, but Pinkie was ignoring them. "We'll need food, and drinks, and guests, and food, and presents, and food! Sit right here! I'll be back in two hours!" Pinkie bolted off into the town.

Pillar sat with her mouth open starring after her. "Does she actually expect us to sit here for two hours?" Gear shook his head. "I don't know. She's crazy enough to expect it…" He gathered up his things and stood. "I'm going to my house. Good night." Pillar stood as well. "Hey wait! I don't have anywhere to stay, is there a hotel here?" Gear stopped and turned to face her. "I'm not sure. I haven't been here very long… if you want you could stay at my house, I'll just sleep on the floor." She shook her head. "No I couldn't do that." Gear shrugged. "It's no problem to me; if you're sure I'll just go." Pillar quickly gathered her things and ran after him. "If you don't mind then I guess I can stay for the night, just until I find a hotel." Gear nodded and kept walking silently. Pillar looked around at the town as they walked. "It seems a little deserted." She observed. Gear looked around as well. Not a single pony was in sight. "Strange." He said. They continued walking in silence for a while. About halfway to Gear's house Pillar stopped. "Is something-?" Pillar shushed him and listened. Gear listened as well. "He could faintly hear a flapping noise. Gear walked up next to Pillar and looked in the air. With the sun setting it was hard to tell what was a shadow and what wasn't. Gear slowly pulled out his pistol and strapped it on while keeping an eye in the air. "Is that necessary? It could just be a bat." Pillar said nervously. The flapping was getting louder. It was going too slow to be a bird or a bat, but it sounded heavier than a Pegasus. He saw something moving and focused on it. He couldn't quite see it though. He aimed his pistol at it just in case. Pillar backed up nervously. "Maybe we should run to your house." The thing was getting bigger quickly. "Too late." He said. The thing landed in the shadows at the end of the street and watched them. It breathed heavily and sounded like it was growling. "Stay behind me." He said. He began backing up keeping his eyes on the spot the creature landed. The creature crept forward after them until it was in the light. Pillar gasped in horror and Gear's hoof began to shake. The creature had the head of a crocodile and the body of a lion. Its tail was a long black cord with a spiked ball on the end. Instead of feet the beast had curved spikes. Its wings were full of holes and bony. "What is it?" Pillar asked fearfully.

Gear and Pillar continued to back up slowly. "You run, get to my house. It's on hay bale road." Pillar hesitated. "Go!" He yelled. Pillar ran toward the next street. The beast leapt at Gear as he yelled. He raised the pistol up and fired. The gunpowder in the cartridge exploded sending the small bullet out of the gun. The bullet exited the barrel spiraling in the air as it went. After a short time in the air the bullet split into twenty or so smaller fragments. The fragments continued on in the air toward the beast faster than the speed of sound. The fragments hit the beast in the chest, blowing it open and sending a greenish-blue fluid out. The beast jerked back from the force of the impact and nearly stopped in mid air. Gear's hoof flew up from the kickback of the gun. He regained his balance and quickly loaded another shell into the chamber. The beast fell onto the ground and stumbled around a bit. It regained its balance and snarled at Gear. He backed up a couple steps in shock. The beast lunged at him again before he could regain his composure. It knocked him onto the ground and managed to rip the gun from his hoof. He grabbed it by the head and pushed up to keep it from biting him. He growled as he struggled to keep the beast from tearing out his jugular. A loud bang rang out and the beast fell off of him. It rolled to the side leaving a trail of blood behind it. Gear pulled himself over to his pistol and grabbed it. He turned and fired the shot just as the monster lunged for him. This time the bullet caught the beast in the head, blowing off its jaw and creating a bloody hole in place of its face. The creature collapsed on top of him. It didn't breath and he couldn't feel a pulse. He shoved the thing off him and stood up shakily. Pillar ran over and garbed him by the shoulders. "Are you ok?!" She asked. He nodded in shock and noticed she was carrying his spare scatter gun. "Where'd you find that?" He asked surprised. She smiled. "I got to your house and searched it for anything to help you. Then I came back, just in the nick of time too I guess." Gear nodded and almost smiled in relief. Instead he stumbled a bit and stood over the creature. He examined it closely. A moment later it melted into a puddle of smoke and scattered in the air. Gear jumped in surprise and looked around confused. "What was that?" He asked.

Gear shook his head and put the pistol back in his tool belt. A moment later Hawkeye and Twilight ran around the corner. Hawkeye was running on two legs and carrying a strange looking contraption. They stopped in front of the two ponies. "We heard the gunshots, what's going on?" Hawkeye aimed the thing around looking through a small scope on top of it. Gear shook his head. "I don't know; something attacked me, when we killed the thing it turned into a puddle of smoke and disappeared." Hawkeye lowered what Gear assumed was a gun and got back down on all fours. "What did it look like?" He asked. They were suddenly aware of Pinkie standing near them. "What did what look like? Why are you all so serious? We have a party to go to!" Gear slapped his forehead. "Come on!" She shouted and grabbed Gear and Pillar. Hawkeye and Twilight followed after them. After a minute or so of walking they arrived at Sugar Cube Corner. Gear could hear loud music playing from inside and ponies moving around near the windows. Pinkie opened the door and pushed Gear and Pillar in ahead of her. The ponies inside yelled in greeting and swarmed the two asking questions. "When will the fountain be finished?" "What's your name?" "Where are you from?" "What does it look like?" Pinkie shooed back the crowd. "No questions! Just party!" she yelled. Hawkeye walked up next to Gear. "Hey! I didn't get a party when I came here, well at least not one this big." He said. Gear observed that Hawkeye now had his gun strapped to his back. Gear nodded walked over to the punch bowl. He noticed Pillar being interrogated by Twilight in the corner of the room. Pinkie rushed over next to him. "Isn't this an awesome party?! It's bigger than yours was because I had more time to plan this one! We have lots of food and games and food and punch, did I mention food? We got food!" She yelled and then she was off talking to other ponies. Gear shook his head in amusement and swirled the scoop of the punch bowl around a bit. Seeing no alligators in it he took a cup full and walked over to the window. He looked outside wearily but saw nothing out of the ordinary. Pillar walked up next to him. "You alright there?" She asked him. Gear nodded and took a sip of punch. "Thank you for saving me. If you hadn't come back I'd probably be dead." She nodded and patted him on the back. "Well that's what friends do; shoot giant monsters that are trying to rip out your friend's throat!" She said smiling. "Hmm." He said. He took another sip of punch while looking out the window. "Why do you think it attacked us? It obviously had to fly from far away in order to find us…" She said. Gear shook his head. "I don't know. But isn't it convenient that no pony was around to see us getting attacked?" He asked. She looked at him confused. "What do you mean?" Gear sighed. "Maybe I'm over analyzing things but, no pony was around, it was getting dark, and it seemed to know exactly where we were." Pillar looked at him in surprise. "You don't think somepony sent it after us?" She asked. Gear shook his head. "I don't know." Off in the distance he thought he heard a roar.


	12. Chapter 12 good bye

The next morning brought chirping birds and shining light in through the windows of the small house. Gear opened his eyes and stiffly sat up from the couch. Upstairs he could hear Pillar snoring softly. Gear stood up from the couch and stretched his back a bit before pulling on his boots and vest. He silently checked all of the various pouches he had on the vest then made his way into the kitchen. He silently opened the fridge and pulled out a couple of apples then set two of them on the counter and ate a third on his way out the door. The morning was warm and a slight breeze rustled the leaves in the trees. He noted that the leaves were tinted red signifying fall was on the way. He finished off the apple as he walked toward the construction site.

The workers were already walking about preparing things for the final part of the fountain. Gear sat down next to the table of blue prints and waited for them to begin. He thought about what had happened last night and how he had almost been killed. _'Why did it go after me? Was it just because I was closer or…' _He frowned unconsciously as he considered different possibilities. "I'm so excited! I can't wait to see the fountain finished! Are you excited Gear, cause I'm excited! I brought you lunch again today!" Gear jumped to the side and banged his shoulder on the table. He grunted in pain and stared at Pinkie. "How long were you sitting there?!" He asked. She giggled and handed him a paper bag. "Only about five minutes! You look depressing when you think, did you know that? I think you'd look happier without your goggles on!" She reached for his goggles as she spoke. Gear pushed her hoofs to the side and shook his head. "The goggles stay on." He said.

Gear almost sighed in relief when Pillar arrived. "Good morning, did you sleep well?" He asked. Pillar nodded happily and slapped the shoulder he had just hurt making him wince in pain. "You have a really comfortable bed! Thanks for letting me stay the night." She said. Pinkie frowned. "You let her sleep in your bed?! I had to sleep in a sleeping bag!" She complained. Gear sighed in annoyance. Pillar laughed loudly. "Ah! Had more than one girl in your house eh? How long you been living here stud?" She asked grinning like a maniac. Gear slapped his forehead and she put a hoof around his shoulder. "I'm just messin with ya! Today they finish the fountain right?" He nodded and noticed Pinkie was frowning fiercely at Pillar. She lunged forward in between the two of them. "I'm really excited about the fountain! I bet you did an awesome job Gear! The fountain will be fantastic!"

Pillar let go of Gear and raised an eyebrow at Pinkie. Gear shook his head and watched as a cart pulled by four ponies entered the square. On its back was the center piece of the fountain, a large stone pillar with a sun and a moon on top of it. Pillar nodded in approval as she examined it. "Just how I imagined it! Can't believe they got it done so quickly, must be a slow year for stone carvers." She said. Gear nodded his head and looked over the fountain piece. The cart stopped next to the basin and a couple of unicorns levitated it in place. The unicorns then welded the pipes inside the center piece to the pipes in the basin. Gear nodded in approval and walked over to the finished fountain. "Well, that was the fastest job I've ever done." He commented. Pinkie and Pillar followed him and gazed up at the new fountain. Then the construction workers turned on the water and it became a fountain at last. Water came out from the base of the moon and sun and made a waterfall into the basin while water sprinkled out of the top.

The workers quickly hauled away all of the extra items that were at the site and pulled down the rope that circled the area. In just a single hour the square looked as though it were never a construction site. Ponies began coming out to look at the new fountain with joy. Gear turned to Pillar. "Well now that that's done with I guess you and I will be moving on, right?" She nodded. "Yup, back to Stalliongrad for me. Thanks for letting me stay the night." She held out a hoof which he shook. Pinkie looked at Gear in surprise. "You're leaving? You've only been hear four days!" She exclaimed unhappily. Gear frowned as he dropped Pillar's hoof. "I usually just wander around equestrian in between jobs. I repair things for money; if I stay here I'll run out." Pinkie nodded sadly. "Maybe you'll find yourself in Stalliongrad, see ya around stud." Pillar said and walked off toward the train station.

**Later**

Gear patted Pinkie on the head nodded. "I guess I'll see you around." He shifted the heavy pack on his back. Pinkie nodded and smiled weakly. "Just come back here quick ok? I still need to make you smile." He nodded and set off down the road out of town. He flinched when he suddenly heard her start crying really loudly. _'Ah jeeze…' _He thought. He looked back at her bit his lip. _'I can't go back… how am I going to get money? Sorry Pinkie… I'll come back as soon as I have more money.' _He thought. He then turned and walked down the path and out of sight of the town.

**Everfree forest ruins**

The group of ten ponies made their way out of the dense undergrowth and into the clearing where the ruins could be clearly seen. Hawkeye, Ace, Pain, fossil, bone, four veteran unicorns from the civil war, and a unicorn named Lyra Heartstrings made up the expedition team. Hawkeye stopped the group at the entrance and turned around. "All right, teams of two, I want everypony with a unicorn, I'll take Miss Heartstrings, the rest of you divide yourselves up." He said. Everyone split into a pairs at his direction. "We'll keep in contact with telepathy; if you find anything mark the area with a beacon." They nodded and started shifting around rapidly. "Take two meals from the supply carts, when you eat the second meal make your way back out of the ruins. Alright?" Everypony nodded and pulled two meals worth of food out of the supply carts. One by one the teams walked into the ruins.

Hawkeye and Lyra went in last. "Oh wow! This place must be really old! Look at all the cracks and crumbling walls and caved in ceilings!" Hawkeye rolled his eyes. "You don't say?" He said sarcastically. She nodded. "Oh yes, I can tell because I'm a scientist of sorts!" Hawkeye managed to keep from slapping his forehead. "Alright then Miss Heartstrings, we're looking for any stairs or ladders that lead up." Hawkeye said. He glanced around looking for anything of interest. "Please, call me Lyra! Oh! Do you think humans could have lived here at one point? It looks a lot like human architecture. Hawkeye missed a step and almost fell over in surprise. Lyra didn't notice though. "Human's?" He asked surprised. "Yes, they walk on two legs, only have hair covering their head, have hands, and all kinds of other things!" She said. Hawkeye looked at her wearily. "Have you ever SEEN a human?" He asked. She shook her head. "No, but I know they exist!" She stopped and pointed at a crumbling stair case. "Is that it?" She asked. Hawkeye nodded. "We weren't looking for any particular one. That one will do."

The two walked up the steps and onto a second floor. In places the floor had caved in. Lyra levitated a piece of paper and a pen out of her pack and began drawing a map as they went along. Most of the rooms were empty or rubble was piled so high in front of the door way that they couldn't go through. "It's really spooky in here, I wonder if we'll actually find anything." Lyra wondered out loud. Hawkeye glanced through a doorway and almost had a heart attack. Inside were shelves jammed full of figurines. They were all human and they were all facing the door way. Each one had the creepiest grin he had ever seen on its face, a couple had cracks or were missing eyes. Lyra noticed him staring into the room. "What, what is it?" She ran over and looked inside. "Wow! Dolls! Of humans! There must have been humans here!" She rushed inside and magically marked the room. "Let's not jump to conclusions…" Hawkeye said. He walked into the room nervously. No matter where he went the dolls seemed to watch him. Lyra was examining the dolls when Hawkeye walked up next to her. "Let's go, this place gives me the creeps…" Lyra turned to look at him. "The big scary war veteran is afraid of a couple of dolls?" She teased him.

Hawkeye frowned at her. "You haven't been through what I have. If you had seen the things I've seen; you'd be afraid of everything." He said. Lyra rolled her eyes. "Dramatic much, fine, I'll come back later with somepony else." Hawkeye followed her out of the room gratefully. They continued walking in silence for a while. "So… what have you seen that's so terrible?" She asked. Hawkeye shook his head. "I couldn't describe it, you'd have to see it…" She frowned at him. They eventually made a map of the entire upper floor; the only place of interest had been the room full of dolls. They decided to stop and eat the first of their rations before heading back down. Lyra pulled out a Boca burger, or at least he hoped it was, and began to eat. Hawkeye shuddered at the thought of it being an actual beef burger and pulled out a couple of apples. Lyra watched him carefully as he ate making him feel nervous. "Why are you staring at me?" He asked. She grinned and went back to eating.


	13. Chapter 13 two months later

**2 months later**

****Gear looked down from the hill that overlooked Ponyville and nodded in approval. "I'm back." He said. He made his way down the hill behind the large imposing device that had gotten him, and his brother, enough money to live well. They were able to afford good food, new equipment, and Gear had acquired a small clock work repair kit. He walked behind and to the left of the device trying to keep his distance, the Flim Flam brothers had made it clear they didn't want him near the thing seeing as he hadn't helped work on it at all. It was a large machine that could bake cookies, cakes, and other sweets quicker and better than anything else. Or at least it was supposed to, the brothers were also very adamant that the first town they visit was Ponyville. Gear's brother, Cog, was riding on the back of the machine grinning down at him. "You know, you could be riding on this if you hadn't refused to work on it." Gear ignored him and kept his eyes on the road ahead of him. Cog frowned down at him and rolled over so that he was looking at Gear upside down. "Why did you refuse to work on this thing again?" Gear's brother was a rusty brown color with dark grey streaks in his mane. Like Gear he wore a leather vest with various tools attached and leather gloves, but Cog's goggles were usually around his neck. Gear shook his head and began slowing down so that he wouldn't have to listen to Cog.

After a couple of minutes the machine stopped directly on the outskirts of town. Gear raised an eyebrow and walked past the machine into town. Cog watched him go frowning, finally he shook his head and began setting up the machine. A couple of ponies had stopped to watch in interest, the brothers were not in sight. Gear continued walking through the streets, several ponies recognized him and nodded in greeting as he passed. He nodded in turn and continued on his way toward Sugar Cube Corner. He passed by the fountain he had overseen and nearly smiled. It was in perfect working condition and looked beautiful. "OHMYGOSH!" He heard from his right side. He had barely turned his head at all before what seemed to be a small pink train rammed him onto his back. Upon closer inspection is was actually Pinkie Pie. She had him pinned to the ground and was smiling down at him like a maniac. "YOU'RE BACK! I MISSED YOU SO MUCH DID YOU MISS ME? OF COURSE YOU MISSED ME I'M SO HAPPY TO SEE YOU AGAIN WE NEED TO GO TO SUGAR CUBE CORNER AND CELEBRATE I HAVE TO TELL TWILIGHT AND RARITY AND FLUTT-" Gear had managed to get one of his hoofs free and put it in her mouth. "Pinkie, please let me up. Also please be a little quieter, you're drawing a crowd." Pinkie looked around and found a small ring of ponies had gathered around them to watch. She stepped to the side and Gear stood up. He nodded at her. "Well, shall we go to Sugar Cube Corner?"

Meanwhile at the edge of town Cog had attracted a fairly large crowd. A while ago a note had magically appeared in front of him giving him detailed instructions on what to do. The Flim Flam brothers had decided not to do the presentation and apparently were hiding on a nearby hill watching. He frowned at the hill and shook his head before picking up a nearby megaphone. "Ladies and Gentlecolts! Come one, come all to see the amazing mobile bakery! This machine can create anything a bakery could create in half the time with twice the flavor! He waved a hoof in a semi circle to emphasize whilst he spoke. A small murmur broke out from the crowd when he stopped speaking. Everypony was either looking at the machine in awe or at eachother in surprise. "How does it work?!"Somepony in the crowd called out. Cog smiled charismatically at the crowd and swept his arm to the side. "Why don't I show you?" He pulled a lever next to him and the machine buzzed to life. "The A.M.B starts by mixing together the raw ingredients perfectly portioned, never will too much salt or too little sugar will be added." There was a collective 'ooooooh' from the crowd. He almost laughed at their simplicity. "Next the machine shapes the newly made dough into what we want it to make, in this instance we're baking cookies, the machine pushes the dough through an opening making evenly proportioned circles every time, perfect circles and perfect ingredients." He took a quick glance at the hill the brothers were on and smiled at the crowd again. "Finally the dough is cooked at the perfect temperature to cook them quickly, evenly, and entirely!" A red light turned on above a large oven door and a faint orange glow began inside. "Now you may be wondering, where does the energy come from? How is the machine powered? Well it is powered by pure magic! Any unicorn could operate this machine with ease! But if you're not of the unicorn variety there is a magic battery that stores energy in large quantities! My own invention." He bragged. _'Heh, I have them now!'_

Gear and Pinkie walked into the sweet shop one after the other, as soon as they were inside Pinkie plopped Gear down in a chair and ran behind the counter to grab something. Gear looked to the side and noticed a pony wearing a black robe that covered its face staring at him. He couldn't see anything other than the tip of the stranger's nose. Before he could figure out what color it was Pinkie came back with one very large pink drink with whipped cream. There was two straws in it. She smiled at him and tilted her head to the side. He looked back at the corner of the room and found the mysterious robed stranger was gone. He put a hand on the hilt of his gun nervously and looked back at pinkie. She sipped some of the drink then began to speak. "It's been sooooo long since you were last in Ponyville! Where were you? What did you do?" She smiled at him and pushed the drink a little closer to him. He raised an eyebrow and took a sip of the drink. He almost coughed because of the overpowering taste of strawberry. It was very sweet and it filled his nose with the smell of strawberry. "What is this?!" He gasped out while trying to keep tears from flowing. "It's so... sweet!" Pinkie laughed at him. "It's my own creation! I call it very berry sweet strawberry!" He pushed the glass back at her and smacked his lips a couple of times. "So, where were you?" Pinkie asked again. She took a huge gulp of the strawberry overdose potion. Gear grimaced and shook his head. "That's a long story that I'm sure will bore you." She shook her head. "Tellmetellmetellme!" She said.


End file.
